The domestic prices paid for hot-rolled coil in Europe have been largely stable over the week, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 19.
Mills continued to make attempts to achieve higher transaction prices, while buyers resisted further price increases on slow market activity. End users were reportedly "not ready" to pay higher prices to distributors, while stockholders and service centers had sufficient stocks of material. Meanwhile, a reduced output of flat steel from European mills amid relatively high import offers supported domestic prices, market sources said.Poor demand had driven the domestic price decrease in the region earlier this year, leading ArcelorMittal to instigate two rounds of production cuts to achieve balance between supply and demand.In late May, the steelmaker said that it was going to reduce primary flat...